Adapter kit for mortise lock openings



Dec. 10, 1957 L. BOER ADAPTER KIT FDR MORTISE LOCK OPENINGS 7 FiledMarch 11, 1957 United States Patent Louie Boer, Santa Ana, Califi,assignor to Kwikset Locks,

Inc., Anaheim, Calif., a corporation of California Application March 11,1957, Serial N 0. 645,206 4 Claims. (Cl. 70-451) This invention relatesto an adapter kit for utilization in con unction with a rectangularreceptacle opening formed in the edge of a door for a mortise lockwhereby a modern tubular lock set or latch can be installed in therectangular mortise opening withoutthe conventional modification of saidopening by the insertion of a wood filler or the like.

During modernization programs in older homes it is frequently necessaryto remove antiquated mortise-type lock sets from association with doorsin which they are installed and to substitute therefor more moderntubular lock sets and latches. Since conventional mortise locksincorporate relatively large rectangular housings, a large rectangularopening is left in the edge of the door which is too large for thereception of the conventional tubular latch or lock set.

The conventional approach to the solution of this problem is toaccurately measure the dimensions of the rectangular opening in the edgeof the door and to fill said opening with a wooden block of the samedimensions prior to the installation of a tubular lock set. Naturally,this conventional procedure entails considerable expenditure of timebecause of the accurate fitting of the wooden block and the subsequentmodification thereof to accept the tubular lock set.

It is, therefore, a primary object of my invention to provide an adapterkit for use in conjunction with a rectangular mortise opening in theedge of a door whereby said adapter kit will permit a conventionaltubular lock set to be installed in the rectangular mortise openingwithout the modification of said opening by the insertion therein of awooden adapter block, or the like.

A further object of my invention is the provision of an adapter kit ofthe aforementioned character which includes a face plate mounting platewhich is designed to receive the face plate and the tubular housing ofthe tubular lock set and to support the same in the mortise opening atthe outer extremity thereof.

Of course, the relatively large mortise receptacle has a greatervertical dimension than the conventional escutcheon plates provided withtubular lock sets and since such lock sets are generally installed byclamping the escutcheon plates against the sides of the door adjacentthe edge thereof, the conventional installation might possibly cause thecollapse of the relatively thin wall sections overlying the mortisereceptacle.

It is, therefore, an additional object of my invention to provide a pairof escutcheon mounting plates adapted to be installed in overlyingrelationship with'the opposite sides of the door and the mortisereceptacle, the vertical dimensions of the escutcheon mounting platesbeing greator than the vertical height of the mortise opening so thatthe load created by the mounting of the escutcheon plates is borne bythe escutcheon mounting plates and thus transmitted to the solidportions of the door adjacent the mortise receptacle.

Another object of my invention is the provision of ice escutcheonmounting plates which are provided with centrally located recesses forthe reception of the conventional escutcheons of the tubular lock setsand said recesses are provided with bottom walls incorporating centrallylocated openings for the reception of the actuator spindle and withopenings on opposite sides of the centrally located openings for thereception of the mounting studs and fastener means associated with saidmounting studs and utilized to mount the escutcheon plates and theassociated knobs of the tubular lock set in operative relationship withthe door.

A further object of my invention is the provision of an adapter kit fora mortise receptacle which materially reduces the installation timeentailed in the installation of a conventional tubular latch or lock setin the mortise receptacle and which thus facilitates the adaptation ofthe receptacle for use with a tubular latch or lock set.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from thefollowing specification and the accompanying drawing which is for thepurpose of illustration only and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the components of the adapter kitof my invention mounted in operative relationship with a door and atubular lock set installed in said door;

Fig. 2 is an exploded view showing the various components of the adapterkit of my invention;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the relationship of aconventional mortise lock set with the mortise receptacle in the edge ofthe door;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the mortise receptacle showing themodification thereof which may be necessary to accommodate the adapterkit and the tubular lock set;

Fig. 5 illustrates the manner in which the adapter kit is installed inoperative relationship with the door in which the mortise receptacle isformed; and

Fig. 6 is a vertical, sectional view taken on the broken line 6--6 ofFig. 1 showing the manner in which the face plate mounting plate isinstalled in operative relationship with the door and the mortisereceptacle and with the face plate itself.

Referring to the drawing, I show an adapter kit 10 which includes a faceplate mounting plate 12, a pair of escutcheon plate mounting plates 14and an adapter strike plate 16. In considering the construction andutilization of the face plate mounting plate 12 and the escutcheon platemounting plates 14, these various plates will be referred to,respectively, as the first mounting plate and second and third mountingplates for purposes of convenience and facility in claiming theinvention.

In order to illustrate the manner in which the adapter kit 10 of myinvention is utilized, reference must be made to the fact that prior tothe development and general acceptance of tubular lock sets, it wascustomary to install mortise-type lock sets such as the lock set 18 ofFig. 3 in doors such as door 20.

The mortise-type lock set 18 incorporates a relatively large,rectangularly shaped housing 22 having an elongated face plate 24provided thereupon or formed integrally therewith. Normally, aspring-biased latch bolt 26 and a dead bolt 28 are projected through theface plate 24 by the action of the mechanism of the mortise lock intoengagement with a strike, not shown, overlying a large opening 30, Fig.6, formed in the door jamb 32 for the reception of the latch and deadbolts 26 and 28.

The large rectangular housing 22 of the mortise lock 18 entails theformation of an enlarged, rectangular mortise opening 34 and theformation of additional mortise cuts 36 adjacent the upper and lowerextremities of said mortise opening for the reception of the oppositeextremities of the face plate 24.

It will also be noted that the formation of the mortise receptacle 34 inthe door. 20 leaves a relatively large area of the sides 38 of the doorwhere the cross section of'thes'ides is quite thin and fundamentallyincapable of sustaining the considerable compression loads which areimposed thereupon by the installation of a tubular lock set in themortise receptacle 34. When the mortise lock 18 is located in thereceptacle 34, the housing 22 thereof. serves, of course, as a stiffenerand bears any loads to which the sidewalls 38 overlying the mortise lockare 1 subjected.

When mortise lo'ck's, such as the mortise lock 18, are removed fromtheir associated receptacles 34 during a modernization program,conventional practice entails the filling of the receptacle 34 with acarefully fitted block of wood which serves to fill the mortisereceptacle 34 and which must be glued or otherwise secured in placetherein to provide the requisite foundation for the installation of atubular lock set. Furthermore, the installation of the mortise lockentails the formation of spindle openings 40 and keyhole openings 42 inthe sides 38 of the door 20 which must be plugged or filled in orderthat they will not detract from the appearance of the sides 38 of thedoor 20 after the installation of the tubular lock set.

Such conventional tubular lock sets, as best illustrated by the lock set44, shown in Figs. 1, and 6 of the drawing, include a tubular housing 46having a face plate 48 formed on the outer extremity thereof. A spindlereceiving transverse bore 50 is formed in the inner extrernity of thehousing 46 and stud receiving opening 52 extends transversely of saidhousing adjacent the spindle receiving opening 50. A stud receivingmounting lug 54 is also formed on the inner extremity of the housing 46for the reception of a mounting stud, to be described in greater detailbelow.

A bolt 56 is projected outwardly beyond the faceplate 48 of the tubularlock set 44 by a spring mechanism, not shown. In order to actuate thebolt 56, there is provided a spindle 60 which has inner and outer knobs62 and 64 mounted upon the opposite extremities thereof. Disposed inoverlying relationship with the shanks of the 'knobs62 and 64 arerelatively small, circular escutcheon plates 66, only the innerescutcheon plate being shown in the drawing. I

The inner escutcheon plate 66 is provided with holes 68-for the passageof fasteners such as screws 70 and there are mounted on the outerescutcheon plate studs 72 whichare'en'gaged by the inner extremities ofthe screws 70 and which thus draw the escutcheon plates 66 toward eachother at the sides 38 of the door 20 in order to maintain the escutcheonplates and the knobs in operative relationship with the door 20.

It will be noted that the spindle 60 passes through the transverselyoriented spindle receiving bore 50 in the housing 46 and that the studs72 are engaged in the opening 52 and the lug 54 to maintain the innerend of the housing 46 in a predetermined location with respect to thedoor 20.

In conventional installations of the lock set 44, it is only necessaryto form a longitudinal bore in the edge of the door for the reception ofthe housing 46 with a mortised depression for the reception of the faceplate in the edge of the door. A large transverse opening communicatingwith the axial bore is formed in the side of the door and the escutcheonplates 66 disposed in overlying relationshiptherewith while the studs 72and spindle 60 extend through said opening.

Whenthe conventional method of adapting the mortise receptacle 34 'for atubular lock set, such as the lock set 44, is' utilized, a plug of woodis carefully fitted within the mortise receptacle 34 and then the axialbore is drilled therethrough, a transverse opening being formedinthesides of the door which extends through the plug to permit the passageof the spindle 60 and the studs 72 through the door.

By the utilization of the adapter kit 10 of my invention, it is possibleto dispense with the formation of a wood plug and the installationthereof and to insure that a tubular lock set 44 will be properly andrigidly installed in the edge of the door without the possibility ofbuckling of the relatively thin sides 38 of the door over the mortisereceptacle 34 or the mislocation of the housing 46 of the tubular lockset 44 with respect to said mortise receptacle.

The face plate mounting plate 12 of the adapter kit 10 is, as best shownin Figs. 2 and 6 of the drawing, of substantially rectangularconfiguration and is provided with a centrally located depression 74whose vertical and transverse dimensions are the substantial equivalentof the vertical and transverse dimensions of the face plate 48 of thetubular lock set 44. Screw receiving openings 76 are formed in theopposite extremities of the face plate mounting plate 12 and the lengthof the plate 12 is calculated to fit the greatest number of sizes ofmortise receptacles 34 and, more particularly, to fit within theadditional mortise cuts 36 formed in the edge of the door for thereception of the face plate 24 of the mortise lock '18. A centrallylocated aperture 78 is formed in the wall of the depression 74 and screwreceiving holes 80 are provided in said wall on opposite sides of saidaperture.

The centrally located aperture 78 is adapted to receive the housing 46of the tubular lock set 44 when it is inserted therein and the faceplate 48 of said tubular lock set is of such a depth that it fits flushwithin the depression 74 of the plate 12. With the face plate 48 of thetubular lock set 44 located in the depression 74 of the plate 12, thebolt 56 is adapted to project therethrough into engagement with therectangular opening 82 in the adapter strike plate 16.

The adapter strike plate 16 is provided with screw receiving holes 83 atits opposite extremities and with a lip 8'5adapted to overlie theadjacent portion of the jamb 32. Thus, the opening 82 will overlie thelarger opening 30 in the jamb 32 and provide an accurately shaped andsized receptacle for the reception of the latch bolt 56.

The escutcheon plate mounting plates 14 are, as best shown in Figs. l-2and 5 of the drawing, of substantially rectangular configuration and ofconsiderably greater vertical length than the vertical height of amortise receptacle formed in a door with which they are to beassociated, as will be illustrated in greater detail below.

Circular recesses 84 are formed in the plates 14 intermediate theextremities thereof and spindle receiving openings 88 are formed in thebottom walls 86 thereof. Formed in the bottom walls 86 on opposite sidesof the spindle receiving openings 88 are stud or fastener receivingopenings 90 whose function will become apparent from the detaileddescription of the installation of the adapter kit 10 in associationwith the tubular lock set 44 and a mortise receptacle 34 in the door 20as presented hereinbelow in greater detail.

Installation of the tubular lock set 44 in the door 20 in substitutionfor the mortise lock set 18 of course entails the initial removal of themortise lock set 18 from the mortise receptacle 34 in the mannerillustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawing. After the removal of the mortiselock set 18, spindle receiving holes 92 are formed in the sides 38 ofthe door 20 in conjunction with stud receiving holes 94, as bestillustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawing.

The face plate mounting plate 12, which constitutes the first plate ofthe adapter kit 10, is then located in overlying relationship with theouter extremity of the mortise geceptacle 34 and is secured in saidposition by screws The housing46 ofthe lock 44 is then inserted throughthe centrally located opening 78 in the depression 74 and screws 98utilized in fastening the face plate 48 in operative relationship withthe plate 12. Therefore, the plate 12 serves to support the outerextremity of the housing 46 of the lock set 44 and the face plate 48thereupon in a predetermined relationship with the mortise receptacle34.

After installation of the housing 46 in the above described manner, theescutcheon plates 66 are located in the escutcheon plate supportingplates 14 and the spindle 60 and studs 72 inserted through the openings92 and 94 in the sides 38 of the door 20. The plates 14 are thenjuxtaposed to the sides 38 of the door and the fastening screws 70inserted through the opening 68 in the interior escutcheon plate 66.

The inner extremities of the fastening screws 70 engage the studs 72 andthus the escutcheon plates 66 are drawn toward each other to maintainthe escutcheon plates 66 and the plates 14 in operative relationshipwith the sides 38 of the door 20 and to further maintain the escutcheonplates 66 within the recesses 84 in the plates 14.

It will be noted that, when the plates 14 are mounted on the sides 38 ofthe door 20 in the above described manner, the upper and lowerextremities thereof overlie solid portions of the door 20 and span therelatively thin walled mortise receptacle 34 so that, as the compressiveloads are exerted by the escutcheons 66 due to the action of thefasteners 70 and the associated studs 72, said compressive loads aretransmitted through the plate 14 to the solid portions of the door 20.

The adapter strike plate 16 can then be installed in operativerelationship with the jamb 32 by the use of fasteners 102 insertedthrough the openings 83 in the plate 16. Thus, the plate 16 covers thelarger bolt opening in the jamb 32 which was formed for the simultaneousreception of the latch bolt 26 and the dead bolt 28 of the mortise lock18. It also provides the opening 82 for the reception of the bolt 56 ofthe tubular latch 44. It should also be noted that the plates 14 serveto cover the old spindle openings 40 and keyhole openings 42 formed inthe sides 38 of the door 20 and thus no need to plug or otherwise fillsaid openings arises.

Occasionally the mortise receptacle 34 must be modified slightly toaccommodate the adapter kit 10 and the tubular lock set 44 and a typicalmodification is illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawing wherein the mortisecuts 36 have been enlarged as at 36' to receive the opposite extremitiesof the plate 12. Furthermore, the side walls of the mortise receptacle34 have been bored as at 34 to widen the receptacle for the reception ofa slightly wider tubular housing of a tubular latch installed in saidreceptacle.

I thus provide by my invention an adapter kit which facilitates theinstallation of a tubular latch in a mortise receptacle for aconventional mortise lock without extensive modification or repair ofthe door in which the mortise receptacle is located. The use of theadapter kit of my invention materially reduces the cost of installationof tubular lock sets in such receptacles and provides a cleaner andneater installation at a relatively low cost.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an adapter kit for use in mounting a tubular lock in operativerelationship with a rectangular mortise opening in a door where saidlock includes a tubular housing having a face plate at one end ofsmaller vertical height than said opening and a knob mounting spindleassociated with said housing with knobs mounted on opposite extremitiesthereof, said knobs having escutcheon plates thereupon, the combinationof: a mounting plate securable in overlying relationship with saidopening for supporting said housing, said plate having a centrallylocated aperture therein for the reception of said housing; and a pairof escutcheon mounting plates disposable in overlying relationship withthe opposite sides of said door and extending beyond the vertical limitsof said opening to support said spindle in operative relationship withsaid opening, said escutcheon mounting plates having recesses thereinfor the reception of said escutcheon plates.

2. In an adapter kit for mounting a tubular lock set in a rectangularmortise opening in a door where said lock set includes a tubular housinghaving a face plate at one end, a spindle extending transversely of saidhousing, knobs on the opposite ends of said spindles, an escutcheonplate on each of said knobs and mounting studs extending from oneescutcheon plate for engagement by fasteners extending through the otherescutcheon plate, the combination of: a first mounting plate insertiblein one edge of said opening to support said housing, said first mountingplate having an aperture therein for mounting said housing; and secondand third mounting plates on opposite sides of said door which extendbeyond the vertical limits of said opening and support said escutcheonplates on said sides of said door, said second and third plates havingaligned holes for the passage of said spindle therethrough.

3. In an adapter kit for mounting a tubular lock set in a rectangularmortise opening in a door where said lock set includes a tubular housinghaving a face plate at one end, a spindle extending transversely of saidhousing, knobs on the opposite ends of said spindle, an escutcheon plateon each of said knobs and mounting studs extending from one escutcheonplate for engagement by fasteners extending through the other escutcheonplate, the combination of: a first mounting plate insertible in one edgeof said opening to support said housing, said first mounting platehaving an aperture therein for mounting said housing; and second andthird mounting plates on opposite sides of said door which extend beyondthe vertical limits of said opening, said second and third plates havingaligned holes for the passage of said spindle therethrough and recessesfor the reception of said escutcheon plates.

4. In an adapter kit for mounting a tubular lock set in a rectangularmortise opening in a door where said lock set includes a tubular housinghaving a face plate at one end, a spindle extending transversely of saidhousing, knobs on the opposite ends of said spindles, an escutcheonplate on each of said knobs and mounting studs extending from oneescutcheon plate for engage ment by fasteners extending through theother escutcheon plate, the combination of: a first mounting plateinsertible in one edge of said opening to support said housing, saidfirst mounting plate having an aperture therein for mounting saidhousing; and second and third mounting plates on opposite sides of saiddoor which extend beyond the vertical limits of said opening, saidsecond and third plates having recesses therein for receiving saidescutcheon plates and said recesses having bottom walls provided withcentrally located holes for the passage of said spindle and with holeson opposite sides of said centrally located holes for the reception ofsaid studs and said fasteners to maintain said knob and said escutcheonplates in operative relationship with said second and third mountingplates.

Kaiser Aug. 21, 1956 Schlage Mar. 19, 1957

